in combat ; 3 @ , @ 48 ##6 were killed and hundreds more were taken prisoner . australian airmen in light bomber and fighter squadrons also participated in the liberation of western europe during 1944 and 1945 and two raaf maritime patrol squadrons served in the battle of the atlantic . from the 1920s australia ' s defence thinking was dominated by british imperial defence policy , which was embodied by the " singapore strategy " . this strategy involved the construction and defence of a major naval base at singapore from which a large british fleet would respond to japanese aggression in the region . to this end , a high proportion of australian forces in asia were concentrated in malaya during 1940 and 1941 as
in combat ; 3 @, @ 486 were killed and hundreds more were taken prisoner. australian airmen in light bomber and fighter squadrons also participated in the liberation of western europe during 1944 and 1945 and two raaf maritime patrol squadrons served in the battle of the atlantic. from the 1920s australia's defence thinking was dominated by british imperial defence policy, which was embodied by the " singapore strategy ". this strategy involved the construction and defence of a major naval base at singapore from which a large british fleet would respond to japanese aggression in the region. to this end, a high proportion of australian forces in asia were concentrated in malaya during 1940 and 1941 as